CAMERON HIGHLANDS - The current rainy spell in Cameron Highlands has forced the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry to instruct all quarters to be on the alert for any possible disaster.
"If the weather continues to be like this, then we have to be on standby at all times.
"The team of engineers and technicians from the Sultan Abu Bakar dam will have to be extra alert and continuously monitor the situation," Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili said prior to a visit to the Bertam Valley disaster site here.
Bertam Valley was hit by a mud flood on Oct 23 which claimed the lives of three foreign workers.
Another local man died on the way to the Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom Hospital in Tanah Rata, believed to have suffered a heart attack, while attempting to flee his house.
Some 80 houses suffered various extent of damages due to the mud flood, including 15 kongsi houses, which were swept away. A Chinese school, SJK (C) Bertam Valley, was also affected.
More than 100 cars were also damaged in the flood, including some which suffered total lost.
The mud flood happened when water from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Ringlet, located about 1.3km away from Bertam Valley, was released in three batches - at 12am, 1am and 2.45am - into Sungai Bertam, after it breached the maximum level.
The dam could not contain the high volume of water, contributed by continuous heavy downpour. And because Sungai Bertam too could not contain the large volume of water, it overflowed into the 80 houses, sweeping away 15 of them, which were along the banks.
Ongkili said on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)'s side, it could revise the existing standard operating procedure (SOP) to alert nearby residents whenever it releases water from the dam into the river until the weather stabilises.
"The team of engineers and technicians from the Sultan Abu Bakar dam will have to be extra alert and continuously monitor the situation," Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili said prior to a visit to the Bertam Valley disaster site here.
Bertam Valley was hit by a mud flood on Oct 23 which claimed the lives of three foreign workers.
Another local man died on the way to the Sultanah Hajjah Kalsom Hospital in Tanah Rata, believed to have suffered a heart attack, while attempting to flee his house.
Some 80 houses suffered various extent of damages due to the mud flood, including 15 kongsi houses, which were swept away. A Chinese school, SJK (C) Bertam Valley, was also affected.
More than 100 cars were also damaged in the flood, including some which suffered total lost.
The mud flood happened when water from the Sultan Abu Bakar Dam in Ringlet, located about 1.3km away from Bertam Valley, was released in three batches - at 12am, 1am and 2.45am - into Sungai Bertam, after it breached the maximum level.
The dam could not contain the high volume of water, contributed by continuous heavy downpour. And because Sungai Bertam too could not contain the large volume of water, it overflowed into the 80 houses, sweeping away 15 of them, which were along the banks.
Ongkili said on Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB)'s side, it could revise the existing standard operating procedure (SOP) to alert nearby residents whenever it releases water from the dam into the river until the weather stabilises.
Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister Datuk Seri Maximus Ongkili visiting the Bertam Valley disaster site in Cameron Highlands. NSTP/L.Manimaran
Full article: http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=181271:its-not-over-in-camerons-residents-told-to-brace-for-more-disasters&Itemid=2#ixzz2jDGtol7y
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